The present invention relates to a hinge structure for a collapsible portable phone.
Recently, a variety of kinds and a variety of specifications of portable phones have been proposed in order to meet the consumers"" needs under the circumstances that portable phones have been used more and more.
Under such circumstances, there has been proposed a collapsible portable phone composed of an operating body provided with a phone operating portion on its surface and a display body pivotally and collapsibly coupled with the operating body and provided with a liquid crystal display image field that may display Arabic numerals or letters such as names or phone numbers on its surface. Not only may this type portable phone be collapsed to be superior in portability and a malfunction of the phone operating portion may be prevented when the phone operating portion is protected or concealed in the case where the portable phone is put into a pocket in the collapsed condition. On the other hand, this structure has an advantage that the user may enjoy the conversation comfortably because the overall length is elongated when opened. In some cases, the user would feel uncomfortable unless a microphone portion is close to his or her mouth.
The present inventors have paid his attention to this type collapsible portable phone and have invented a hinge structure for a novel collapsible portable phone that is extremely convenient in use, extremely high in commercial applicability, and may cultivate or motivate the consumers"" heart to buy.
In order to attain this and other objects of the present invention, there is provided a hinge structure for a collapsible portable phone, comprising: an operating member provided with a phone operating portion on its surface; a display member, pivotally and collapsibly coupled with the operating member and provided with a display image field in which numerals and/or letters for phone numbers and/or names may be displayed on its surface; and a biasing mechanism that may exhibit a closing biasing force for biasing the display member in a closing direction between a closed condition that the display member is collapsed to the operating member and a predetermined rotational position where the display member is rotated to the operating member in an opening direction and may exhibit an opening biasing force for biasing the display member in the opening direction between a fully opened condition that the display member is fully opened to the operating member and a predetermined rotational position where the display member is rotated in the closing direction, the biasing mechanism being provided at a pivot portion between the operating member and the display member, wherein a rotary shaft coupled with the operating member is provided, a bearing member provided with a recess portion that may be engaged in a convex/concave engagement manner with an elongate projection provided in the rotary shaft is coupled with the display member, the elongate projection provided on the rotary shat and the recess portion provided in the bearing member are liable to engage with each other from a disengaged condition, when the rotary shaft is rotated relative to the bearing member about an axis, so that a rotational biasing force is generated between the rotary shaft and the bearing member for rotating the rotary shaft, the rotational biasing force is set so that the elongate projection provided in the rotary shaft and the recess portion provided in the bearing member are disengaged away from each other so that the rotational biasing force does not work when the display member is being rotated to the operating member between the predetermined rotational positions, and the rotational biasing force is set so that the elongate projection provided on the rotary shaft and the recess portion provided in the bearing member are liable to engage with each other so that the display member is rotated from the collapsed condition relative to the operating member up to the predetermined rotational position where the display member is rotated in the opening direction and from the opened condition that the display member is fully opened to the operating member to the predetermined rotational position that the display member is rotated in the closing direction to thereby work as the closing biasing force and the opening biasing force.
Also, according to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a hinge structure for a collapsible portable phone, comprising: an operating member provided with a phone operating portion on its surface; a display member, pivotally and collapsibly coupled with the operating member and provided with a display image field in which numerals and/or letters for phone numbers and/or names may be displayed on its surface; and a biasing mechanism that may exhibit a closing biasing force for biasing the display member in a closing direction between a closed condition that the display member is collapsed to the operating member and a predetermined rotational position where the display member is rotated to the operating member in an opening direction and may exhibit an opening biasing force for biasing the display member in the opening direction between a fully opened condition that the display member is fully opened to the operating member and a predetermined rotational position where the display member is rotated in the closing direction, the biasing mechanism being provided at a pivot portion between the operating member and the display member, wherein a rotary shaft coupled with the operating member is provided, a bearing member provided with an elongate projection that may be engaged in a convex/concave engagement manner with a recess portion provided in the rotary shaft is coupled with the display member, the recess portion provided on the rotary shat and the elongated projection provided in the bearing member are liable to engage with each other from a disengaged condition, when the rotary shaft is rotated relative to the bearing member about an axis, so that a rotational biasing force is generated between the rotary shaft and the bearing member for rotating the rotary shaft, the rotational biasing force is set so that the recess portion provided in the rotary shaft and the elongate projection provided in the bearing member are disengaged away from each other so that the rotational biasing force does not work when the display member is being rotated to the operating member between the predetermined rotational positions, and the rotational biasing force is set so that the recess portion provided on the rotary shaft and the elongate projection provided in the bearing member are liable to engage with each other so that the display member is rotated from the collapsed condition relative to the operating member up to the predetermined rotational position where the display member is rotated in the opening direction and from the opened condition that the display member is fully opened to the operating member to the predetermined rotational position that the display member is rotated in the closing direction to thereby work as the closing biasing force and the opening biasing force.
According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a hinge structure for a collapsible portable phone, comprising: an operating member provided with a phone operating portion on its surface; a display member, pivotally and collapsibly coupled with the operating member and provided with a display image field in which numerals and/or letters for phone numbers and/or names may be displayed on its surface; and a biasing mechanism that may exhibit a closing biasing force for biasing the display member in a closing direction between a closed condition that the display member is collapsed to the operating member and a predetermined rotational position where the display member is rotated to the operating member in an opening direction and may exhibit an opening biasing force for biasing the display member in the opening direction between a fully opened condition that the display member is fully opened to the operating member and a predetermined rotational position where the display member is rotated in the closing direction, the biasing mechanism being provided at a pivot portion between the operating member and the display member, wherein a rotary shaft coupled with the display member is provided, a bearing member provided with a recess portion that may be engaged in a convex/concave engagement manner with an elongate projection provided in the rotary shaft is coupled with the operating member, the elongate projection provided on the rotary shat and the recess portion provided in the bearing member are liable to engage with each other from a disengaged condition, when the rotary shaft is rotated relative to the bearing member about an axis, so that a rotational biasing force is generated between the rotary shaft and the bearing member for rotating the rotary shaft, the rotational biasing force is set so that the elongate projection provided in the rotary shaft and the recess portion provided in the bearing member are disengaged away from each other so that the rotational biasing force does not work when the display member is being rotated to the operating member between the predetermined rotational positions, and the rotational biasing force is set so that the elongate projection provided on the rotary shaft and the recess portion provided in the bearing member are liable to engage with each other so that the display member is rotated from the collapsed condition relative to the operating member up to the predetermined rotational position where the display member is rotated in the opening direction and from the opened condition that the display member is fully opened to the operating member to the predetermined rotational position that the display member is rotated in the closing direction to thereby work as the closing biasing force and the opening biasing force.
According to a fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided a hinge structure for a collapsible portable phone, comprising: an operating member provided with a phone operating portion on its surface; a display member, pivotally and collapsibly coupled with the operating member and provided with a display image field in which numerals and/or letters for phone numbers and/or names may be displayed on its surface; and a biasing mechanism that may exhibit a closing biasing force for biasing the display member in a closing direction between a closed condition that the display member is collapsed to the operating member and a predetermined rotational position where the display member is rotated to the operating member in an opening direction and may exhibit an opening biasing force for biasing the display member in the opening direction between a fully opened condition that the display member is fully opened to the operating member and a predetermined rotational position where the display member is rotated in the closing direction, the biasing mechanism being provided at a pivot portion between the operating member and the display member, wherein a rotary shaft coupled with the display member is provided, a bearing member provided with an elongate projection that may be engaged in a convex/concave engagement manner with a recess portion provided in the rotary shaft is coupled with the operating member, the recess portion provided on the rotary shat and the elongated projection provided in the bearing member are liable to engage with each other from a disengaged condition, when the rotary shaft is rotated relative to the bearing member about an axis, so that a rotational biasing force is generated between the rotary shaft and the bearing member for rotating the rotary shaft, the rotational biasing force is set so that the recess portion provided in the rotary shaft and the elongate projection provided in the bearing member are disengaged away from each other so that the rotational biasing force does not work when the display member is being rotated to the operating member between the predetermined rotational positions, and the rotational biasing force is set so that the recess portion provided on the rotary shaft and the elongate projection provided in the bearing member are liable to engage with each other so that the display member is rotated from the collapsed condition relative to the operating member up to the predetermined rotational position where the display member is rotated in the opening direction and from the opened condition that the display member is fully opened to the operating member to the predetermined rotational position that the display member is rotated in the closing direction to thereby work as the closing biasing force and the opening biasing force.
In the structure according to any one of the first to fourth aspects of the invention, according to a fifth aspect of the invention, it is preferable that a biasing member for depressing and biasing the bearing member to the rotary shaft is provided, and the depressing and biasing force of the biasing member causes a damping effect due to a contact resistance between the rotary shaft and the bearing member when the display member is rotated relative to the operating member between the predetermined rotational positions to serve as a holding force for holding the opened condition of the display member to the operating member.
In the structure according to any one of the first to fourth aspects of the invention, it is preferable that an engagement portion that engages with the bearing member in the rotary shaft and the bearing member are made of suitable synthetic resin.
Also, in the structure according to the fifth aspect of the invention, it is preferable that an engagement portion that engages with the bearing member in the rotary shaft and the bearing member are made of suitable synthetic resin
The embodiments of the present invention will now be summarized.
According to the present invention, for instance, the display member is rotated in the opening direction until the display member is biased by the opening biasing force of the biasing mechanism up to the maximum opening state when the display member is rotated in the opening direction up to a predetermined rotational position from the collapsed condition. In this case, since the opening biasing force of the biasing mechanism is applied always to the display member, for instance, there is no fear that the display member is accidentally closed when the user enjoys the conversation, and the opened condition of the display member may be held always.
Also, when the display member is rotated in the closing direction to the operating member to the predetermined position A from the fully opened condition, the display member is biased by the closing biasing force of the biasing mechanism and rotated in the closing direction to the closed condition. In this case, since the closing biasing force of the biasing mechanism is always applied to the display member, for instance, there is no fear that the display member is accidentally opened, and the display member is always kept under the closed condition.
Accordingly, when the display member is opened to the operating member, it is possible to hold the opened condition without fail, and when the display member is closed to the operating member, it is possible to hold the closed condition without fail. Accordingly, it is possible to provide a handy phone that is very convenient and easy to use.
Also, in the embodiment, the rotational biasing force of the biasing mechanism S, which will become the closing biasing force for biasing the display member to the operating member in the closing direction and the opening biasing force for biasing the display member to the operating member in the opening direction, is composed of a force for engaging the recess portion or the elongate portion provided in the rotary shaft with the elongate portion or the recess portion provided in the bearing member from the disengaged condition. Accordingly, even with a miniaturized size, it is possible to exhibit the good rotational biasing force without fail, and hence it is possible to attain the miniaturization and reduction of weight of the portable phone as a whole.
Namely, in the case where the a semi-spherical convex portion and a semi-spherical concave portion are provided to the rotational shaft and the bearing member so as to generate the rotational biasing force, the contact between the convex portion and the concave portion is a point contact. Accordingly, it is necessary to provide the contact between the convex portion and the concave portion away from the axis of the rotary shaft by increasing the size of the projection (the diameter) or the like in order to obtain the sufficient biasing force by the cam effect. As a result the hinge portion provided with the biasing mechanism composed of this rotary shaft and the bearing member is enlarged in size, and hence, the weight of the portable phone as a whole is increased and the size thereof is also enlarged. In this connection, according to the present invention, the contact between the recess portion and the elongate portion of the rotary shaft and the bearing member is the line contact (or the area contact). Accordingly, it is possible to obtain the wide surface area even with the small size projection and to exhibit the sufficient rotational biasing force even if the projection is provided in the vicinity of the axis of the rotary shaft. It is therefore possible to make very compact the hinge portion provided with the biasing mechanism composed of the rotary shaft and the bearing member. Thus, it goes without saying that it is possible to produce the phones in low cost in a mass-production fashion. In addition, it is possible to attain the miniaturization and the reduction in weight of the portable phones as a whole.
Also, according to the second aspect of the invention, because of the simple structure, it goes without saying that it is possible to provide the portable phones in low cost in excellent productivity. In addition, it is possible to provide the collapsible portable phones that are easy to use.
Also, according to the third aspect of the invention, it goes without saying that it is possible to provide the portable phones in low cost in excellent productivity. In addition, it is possible to attain the miniaturization and reduction in weight of the portable phones as a whole in a more effective way.